"How did we get a roster that resembles the 1955 Lakers?" asked
Tyrone Terrell, chairman of St. Paul's African American
leadership council. "I think everything is a strategy. Nothing
happens by happenstance."

That strategy, Terrell and others in the black community believe,
is to sell tickets to the Wolves' fan base, which is
overwhelmingly white.

Minnesota civil rights activist Ron Edwards thinks
something is up too, and he told the paper, "It raises some
real questions to me about what's really intended. I think,
personally, that it was calculated. Is this an attempt to get
fans back in the stands? Minnesota, after all, is a pretty white
state.''

There are a few problems with this theory.

First of all, the T-Wolves sold
90.4% of their tickets last year, which ranked 14th in the
league. Only two other non-playoff teams ranked in the top 15.
And they did it with a majority black roster (8 out of 15
players). So they didn't have an attendance problem at all.

In addition, it's clear that the T-Wolves think there is a market
inefficiency when it comes to international players. Five players
on their roster are from other countries, which is double the
league average
(~2.5 in 2011-12). Since international players come from
predominantly European countries, developing a team with an
international focus is inherently going to shift the racial
makeup of your roster.

It's not a race conspiracy, it's a calculated move to identify
under-the-radar players that the rest of the league isn't looking
at.

The theory that basketball fans are more likely to pay to watch
white players than black players has been debunked by the last 30
years of NBA history. There's no chance the
T-Wolves have a racist master plan in the works.